Monday, 22 November 2010

My family's super-secret Pumpkin Pie recipe, revealed!

I've decided I finally know you guys well enough to let you in on the big family secret: Great-Grandmother's Pumpkin Pie.

Don't take this lightly, now. I made this pie every year for my friends at college, and every year the list of pie requests grew; I made no fewer than 10 pies my senior year. And when we graduated, after much coercion, I agreed to give the recipe to my friend Brittany, but I swore her to secrecy. And now I'm blowing the whole thing open by posting the recipe on the internet. I'm taking a big risk for y'all.

It's worth it, though. As my mom says, the more this recipe gets out into the world, the fewer bland, overly sweet, dull pumpkin pies we have to eat. And I'm all for that attitude.

Because seriously, this recipe is the best. It's pretty much the only Pumpkin Pie I'll eat. So, just in time for you to switch up your Thanksgiving menu plans (yeah, right! Well there's always next year), I'm going to give you the recipe. You're welcome.

I made this pie last weekend for my poor, British bf, who loves it so much and who has an exam on Thanksgiving day, which means he couldn't come with me to San Francisco for the big family to-do. (It also means we'll be apart for his birthday, so I made him an extra one and popped it in the freezer, and I'm praying it'll survive better than Google would have me believe.)

Now, this recipe makes a lot of custard, so I doubled the crust and prepared myself. But we still ended up with a boatload of pie:

I wasn't sure we'd be able to eat it all, but by the time we made dinner my fears of wasted pie were already half-allayed:

I brought the minis in to work, and I think they were pretty popular, despite my let-down of a pie crust overwhelming the deliciousness of the filling (argh), and the big-un was demolished the next morning by the bf. Proof positive that the recipe is a winner! I hope you like it as much as he does (and I do)!

Pumpkin Pie
From Carolyn Anderson McIntyre

(makes enough filling for 1.5 pies, or 1 pie and a couple ramekins of custard)

Gently swirl in brandy, then pour into prepared 10 inch pie shell.
Bake at 425 (218 c) for 20 minutes, then turn down to 350 (176 c) for another 25 minutes or until custard is set.

Serve with freshly whipped cream with just a touch of vanilla and a sprinkle of sugar.

UPDATE! My friend Stacy pointed out that her pie took forever to cook. This happens sometimes. In fact, this past Thanksgiving I was anxiously hovering by the oven for waaaaay longer than planned. Basically, the baking times are an estimate. It'll all depend on how deep your pie dish is, how hot your oven runs, etc. The most reliable test is the jiggle test: the pie should jiggle a bit, just in the very center, but in no way should it be too liquidy or it isn't cooked yet. Hope that helps!

26 comments:

this looks so freaking good. In the past, all my attempts at pumpkin pie have failed. so for this year, i'm going with apple and pecan.but i think i'm gonna try your pumpkin recipe over Christmas. cant wait!!

this recipe is practically fool-proof. of course, i say that having done it a million times over, but from what i hear from friends it's really easy to get right. i hope it cures your pumpkin pie issues; let me know how it comes out!

I took a chance on your recipe and made it for Thanksgiving dinner today. It was a hit! Everyone agreed it was the best pumpkin pie recipe ever (including my husband's 102 year old grandma). Thanks for sharing! This will be my pumpkin pie recipe from now on!

Used your recipe for our Thanksgiving pies yesterday. Delicious and easy! Thank you! The custard fit perfectly in the two pie crusts without left over. I was so over using canned milk & will be making these again!

Hmm, I'll be honest with you: I have no idea. I'd be a bit worried about it messing with the texture of the custard – it might turn out too thin. That said, I have a dairy-free friend and I routinely replace milk products with little to no change to the end product, so... maybe give it a try? I'd suggest doing a quick google to see if there are any dairy-sub recommendations for custard-based baked goods. Good luck!

Thanks so much for your quick reply to my question. I tried the pie today with almond milk replacing the whole milk, and unfortunately, it did not set even after 1.5 hours in the oven. I checked the recipe measurements about a billion times, and I am sure I followed everything else as you laid out. Just wanted to let you and your readers know that this may not be the easiest dessert to make dairy free.

Ahh, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you! I have a friend who's dairy-free – I'll ask her if she has any ideas and will put a comment in the recipe if she does. Thanks so much for coming back to let us know how it went.~A

This looks so amazing! I'm going to be trying it later on today to serve at our family's Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thank you for sharing!http://olgaduron.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-thanksgiving.html

Hi Anne!! I made this pie for thanksgiving yesterday and everyone loved it! The only change i made was in the crust. I made a dark chocolate graham cracker crust instead and it was amazing! Everyone said that the pumpkin pie was the best they ever had! I would have to agree! thank you so much for sharing! :)

First time ever making pumpkin pie just yesterday at it was simply amazing! Thanks so much for this recipe. My siblings were sceptical about pumpkin pie tasting good (they're not really pumpkin people) but they were back for seconds!

Instead of using whipped topping though I served with a streusel on top like in this recipe - http://danazia.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/pumpkin-pie-socks/

I found that the recipe didn't make extra filling though...it was actually just enough for my 10 inch pie plate. I also used evaporated milk instead of whole milk hoping for a thicker custard. I added some other seasonings too (about 1/4 tsp crushed pimento, 1/2tsp mixed spice for baking) but I ran out of ginger :(. Next time I should use more brandy though...didn't even taste a hint with 2 and a half tbsp...thinking of kicking it up to 4tbsp! Mum suggested I try using Baileys rum cream instead of the brandy, or even some sherry. Haven't decided what I'll use next.

This will definitely be my pumpkin pie recipe in the future =). I can't see myself changing after this reception (my dad had to invite one of the neighbours up the road to come have some!)

I usually use the cheapest kind! Honestly, I don't think it matters what kind of brandy you use (I've even used armegnac and bourbon in the past), unless there's one kind you particularly like/dislike.

Hi! I stumbled on this recipe, I decided to try it and it's amazing! It was the first pumpkin pie I tasted too and it was really good! :) I replaced the whole milk with Almond Fresh almond milk and it worked really well, the custard turned out firm just right enough and not liquid at all! Just so you know it's possible to make this delicious pie even if you have problems with dairy products! ;)